SIERRA LEONE

Republic of Sierra Leone

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

Sierra Leone is located in West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean, with an area of 71,740 square kilometers (27,925 square miles)
and a total coastline of 402 kilometers (250 miles). The country shares
a border with Guinea in the north and east and with Liberia in the
southeast. In comparative terms, Sierra Leone is in area about half the
size of the U.S. state of Illinois. Freetown, the capital city, is
located in the western part of the country.

POPULATION.

The population of Sierra Leone was estimated in 2000 to be roughly 5.2
million. Exact figures for the country are impossible to find because a
civil war has ravaged the country since 1991. Since the beginning of the
war, it is estimated that some 2.5 million people have been displaced as
refugees, mostly to Guinea and Liberia. Sierra Leone has an annual
population growth rate of 3.6 percent, a birth rate of 45.6 per 1,000,
and a death rate of 19.58 per 1,000, according to 2000 estimates.

Most of the population (99 percent) is of indigenous African descent.
There are roughly 18 different native African ethnic groups. The
largest, the Mendes and the Temnes, each make up roughly 30 percent of
the entire population. The other groups account for about 39 percent,
with the Krio (or Creole), Lebanese, and Indians making up about 1
percent. The Krio are descendants of freed slaves from Britain, North
America, the Caribbean and re-captives from slave ships, who were
settled in Freetown when it became a British colony in 1808.

Although English is the official language, it is only spoken by
government officials and a limited number of educated Sierra Leoneans.
Mende and Temne are spoken in the south and north, respectively. Krio, a
mix of English and African languages, is spoken by the Krio, who make up
an estimated 10 percent of the population. Although a small percentage
of the population speaks Krio, the language is understood by an
estimated 95 percent of the population, according to the
World Factbook.

The population of Freetown was estimated at over 1.2 million in 1994.
Many rural people fled to the city to escape the rebel Revolutionary
United Front (RUF) that is responsible for a campaign of terror
involving hundreds of random amputations (cutting off of hands, legs,
ears, etc.), rapes, murders, and lootings.

MANUFACTURING.

Sierra Leone's manufacturing sector is one of the smallest in all
of Africa. Manufacturing industries are very few and still in a stage of
infancy in Sierra Leone due to the lack of financial support available
during the civil strife. The manufacturing businesses are mainly raw
materials processors and light manufacturers for the domestic market.
Items processed are mostly palm kernels and rice. Other manufacturing
industries produce a variety of goods including salt, knitwear and other
clothing, paint, oxygen, plastic footwear, nails, soap and cosmetics,
and a wide range of furniture. Sierra Leone also has a refinery for
imported petroleum. The continuing trouble in this sector is indicated
in the small number of new manufacturing businesses that opened
recently. In 1998, only 0.5 percent of the country's new
businesses were involved in manufacturing or construction, according to
the Sierra Leone News Agency.

SERVICES

TOURISM.

Prior to the outbreak of the war in 1991, serious tourist development
took place. The center of attraction was the Cape Sierra district
bordered by Lumley Beach. Many modern hotels catered to the tourist
population. In 1978, the Bintumani Hotel was built, equipped with 300
beds and a conference center. The Cape Sierra Hotel and the Mammy Yoko
Hotel are also located in the Lumley Beach area. Within the city, the
main hotels are Brookfields and the Paramount. However, many of these
hotels have been damaged by the war or have been transformed as lodgings
for soldiers.

Sierra Leone is also home to historic Bunce Island, once a slave trading
post. Freetown itself is part of the Freetown Peninsula endowed with
unspoiled beaches, nature trails, and historic buildings. The number of
tourists has been dramatically reduced because of the war.

FINANCIAL SERVICES.

Sierra Leone was chosen as the site for the West African Clearing House,
which was established in Freetown in 1975. Banking was first introduced
to the country in 1898 by the then Bank of West Africa, which later
became the Standard Bank of Sierra Leone. It was followed in 1917 by
Barclays. The nation's first indigenous commercial bank, the
Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, Ltd., was opened in 1973 and is entirely
government-owned. Sierra Leone's banking system is supervised by
the Bank of Sierra Leone, which serves as the central bank and therefore
controls, maintains, and regulates the nation's money supply and
foreign reserves.

Of major importance to the nation's economic growth is the
National Development Bank, founded in 1968. Its function is to provide
finance in the form of loans or
equity
capital to many development projects in agriculture, agro-based
industry, and industry. However, the ongoing civil strife, especially
the 1997 coup d'état that toppled the civilian government of
President Tejan Kabbah, seriously dislocated these financial services.
Barclays Bank, for example, ceased operations in the country, and the
Treasury Building was severely damaged by fire.

RETAIL.

Sierra Leone is a land of petty traders and street
hawkers
. Many indigenous people engage in
retail
with items as varied as food commodities, clothing, and building
materials, among others. According to
Background to Sierra Leone,
over 8 percent of the country's working population is engaged in
retail and wholesale distribution.

DEPENDENCIES

Sierra Leone has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Background to Sierra Leone.
Freetown: State House, 1980.

Conteh-Morgan, Earl, and Mac Dixon-Fyle.
Sierra Leone at the End of the Twentieth Century: History, Politics,
and Society.
New York: Peter Lang, 1999.

I wanted to address Kelsey and Angel's questions. Kelsey, great question, but complicated answer. A good book to start with: Black Man's Grave by Stewart & Amman, they were Peace Corps Volunteers working in Salone 10 years before the war. Angel, the land size is similar to the State of South Carolina (if you aren't from the states, my apologies) and the population estimates still fluctuate, but they hover between 5 and 6 million people.
Cheers to you both,
Mari

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